Etymologically
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authorization

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 22:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌɔːθəɹaɪˈzeɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English authorize + -ation.[2][3][4] The OED compares auctorisatio, recorded in British sources from the 14th century, authorisation and autorisation (1593 or earlier);[2] Etymonline notes an earlier form auctorisation from the late 15th century.[3] The verb is auctorisen, from Old French autoriser and Medieval Latin auctōrizō,[3][5] formed on auctor (“originator, author”), the source of author.[3][5] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from about 1136, meaning to give authority to, to sanction and to accept as authentic.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of authorizing, formal permission or approval, and the making of something legally valid: 1472–3, in the Rolls of Parliament.[2] Merriam-Webster also dates it to the 15th century,[7] but Etymonline and Dictionary.com put it about 1600.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as "establishment by authority", quoting Matthew Hale on the authorization of laws.[8] The sense "a document giving official permission" is recorded from 1799,[2] and in United States politics the word has been used since 1891 for a law that sets up a government agency or programme, typically for a fixed time,[2] and for a grant of power to the executive to spend money for named purposes.[7] The British spelling is authorisation.[7]

Timeline

  • 1472–3 – the action of authorizing; formal permission.[2]
  • late 15th century – auctorisation.[3]
  • c. 1600 – Etymonline's date for authorization.[3]
  • 1799 – a document giving official permission.[2]
  • 1891 – (US politics) a law that sets up a government agency or programme.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Official permission to do something, or the act of giving it: Visitors need authorization to enter the laboratory.
  2. A document that gives official permission.
  3. (US politics) A law that sets up a government agency or programme, or that allows the executive to spend money on named purposes.

Word family

  • deauthorization
  • preauthorization
  • reauthorization

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.